Report: Foxconn making 1.5 iPhones per second

@macserv ... thanks for the vocabulary lesson (really!). I had to go to Google to find the meaning of that phrase. For those interested ...

Tu quoque, or the appeal to hypocrisy, is a kind of logical fallacy. It is a Latin term for "you, too" or "you, also". A "tu quoque" argument attempts to discredit the opponent's position by asserting his failure to act consistently in accordance with that position; it attempts to show that a criticism or objection applies equally to the person making it.

One convenient and not fallacious way to use "tu quoque" is by pointing out the similarities between the activity of the criticizer and the activity about which he is being questioned.

(Wikipedia)

Isn't EVERYTHING made in China these days?

Foxconn must be one of the nicer factories in China...

Have any of you been to a factory in China? Any sort of factory? You KNOW it's a sweat shop? I doubt it. I have, and have been in and out of factories all over the world for, oh, 30 years. Yes, there are issues in China, but they are bigger (in most cases) that just factory conditions. Most factories building consumer products in China are pretty new; with new equipment. Most (not all) working conditions are better than you'd expect, if you've been inside an American factory. Buildings are new, clean, air conditioned, and provide a variety of services, like basic medical care. For every job available, there is a crowd trying to apply, as many alternatives to a factory job are quite grim.
If your 40 cents/hour salary is,in fact, factual, I'm pretty sure it beats the heck out of most of the local alternatives. Comparing wages there to here is just silly. Comparing much of anything in China to the US is just silly.
China is grappling with a lot, and social unrest is to be expected when an economy has grown like China. Back when we were having most of our goods made in Korea, then Taiwan, it took decades to get where China has gotten in years. People's expectations are evolving rapidly and nothing can keep up with that.
Anyone accusing Apple or many other large companies of building product in sweatshops are ill informed. I've been in sweatshops, and they are horrific. They also don't get gigs with companies like Apple, or HP, or any variety of large publicly held companies.
You should check out some factories here in the US. 100 year-old buildings, ancient crappy machinery, and abysmal conditions compared to many other countries. Factory jobs suck. That's why most of the readers of this site aren't working in one. Assembling iPhones, or Chevys, or sewing boxer shorts all day...it's a crappy job with lousy pay. But someone has to do it, and if iPhones were made here, few of us could afford them. Same thing with most of the stuff in your house. Try to live without anything made from China. I dare you. Wonder where the CPUs in your car came from? Your toaster, components in your water heater?

Just sayin.

I buy 2 iphones 4 over 1 month ago on Monday, the other day the iphone 4 was out of stock. If you want to buy an iphone 4 go on monday to any apple store on monday that is the day the receive products.

After reading about the working conditions and pay there, I'm almost ashamed of myself for buying an Iphone.

There have been 11 suicides at Foxconn plants in China this year alone


Terry Gou tries to justify Foxconn working conditions
AnalysisInterview exposes Gou's disturbing work philosophy
15 Sep 2010 15:32 | by Dean Wilson | posted in Business

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Terry Gou tries to justify Foxconn working conditions -

Terry Gou, head and founder of Foxconn, attempted to justify the suicides and poor working conditions of his factories in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek last week, even going so far as to say he was initially unconcerned about the deaths and that he didn't feel he should be taking responsibility.

There have been 11 suicides at Foxconn plants in China this year alone, prompting outcries around the world from customers, journalists, human rights activists, and the companies that Foxconn make parts for, which includes Apple, Dell, and HP.

Under mounting pressure from the outside world Foxconn made some measures to curb the rising tide of suicides, including placing nets around its dormitories, hiring counsellors, hiring monks, introducing mandatory sports activities and eventually raising the wages of its staff - providing they signed a no suicide pact and passed an evaluation.

However, Gou revealed that the first several suicides did not bother him.

“I should be honest with you,” he told Bloomberg Businessweek. “The first one, second one, and third one, I did not see this as a serious problem. We had around 800,000 employees, and here [in Longhua] we are about 2.1 square kilometers.”

It was only after the fifth suicide that he decided to act and make changes, saying that at the time: “I didn't think I should be taking full responsibility.” Now he said he feels guilty.

Yet while he decided to act after the fifth suicide, several more occurred before Foxconn began to implement the changes needed to improve the working conditions in Shenzhen. It was only after the ninth suicide that these occurred, four more after Gou started taking it seriously.

The poor working conditions at Foxconn were first exposed in 2006, where it was revealed that employees were forced to work overtime due to extremely poor wages, often working shifts of 12 hours or more, and eating on the go.

They stayed in factory-run dormitories where dozens of people were crammed into a single room, sleeping in triple-bunk beds. Some workers complained of cockroaches in the dormitories and no running water for days to bathe themselves.

The salary's made up of the ¥900 ($132) local minimum wage and the variable overtime pay." At a 6 day work week of 12 hours per day, works out to around $.40 an hour.

With what Apple products sell for, the amount spent on labor is appalling.

I think I'm going to stop upgrading as often.

It's tough being popular.

Rogers in Canada hasn't seen a shipment of iPhones since Sep 3rd. Brutal.

and still a 3 week lead time.

Yeah, I'm still waiting for my iPhone I ordered on August 22nd.
And it's not looking as if it's coming anytime soon.
Sunrise (Swiss carrier) told we might have to wait another two weeks.

And not a single white one.